United States Department of Defense

LPD 17 NAMED USS SAN ANTONIO BY SECRETARY OF THE NAVY

Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton named today the lead ship of the LPD 17 class. The first of the new Amphibious Transport Dock ships will be called USS San Antonio.

The USS San Antonio will be the most high-tech, advanced amphibious ship ever built. It is an honor for me to name such an important new combat ship after San Antonio, site of the battle of the Alamo. It is also important that we keep alive the tradition of naming ships after American cities, said Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton. The USS San Antonio and the class of ships to follow will be critical additions to our amphibious fleet.

The LPD 17 is the first Navy shipbuilding program aimed at minimizing military specifications and standards (MILSPECS). This will be the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after the city of San Antonio.

The LPD 17 Amphibious Transport Dock is the functional replacement for four amphibious ship classes and will become an integral part of executing the Navy's Forward... From the Sea strategy beyond the turn of the century. This is also the first major ship acquisition program to employ a totally electronic proposal evaluation process. The Navy's formal request for proposal was issued electronically by posting to the Naval Sea Systems Command's Contract Directorate home page (http://sea02www.navsea.navy.mil/SOL1.html).